The machinery industry is a basic, strategic and pillar industry for the development of the national economy, and is the ‘ballast stone’ of the industrial economy.
Since the “14th Five-Year Plan”, the entire industry has thoroughly implemented the requirements for high-quality development and made remarkable achievements in industrial scale, innovation capabilities, and international competitiveness, laying a solid foundation for promoting new industrialization.
Standing at a new historical starting point, the machinery industry is confidently embarking on a new development journey during the 15th Five-Year Plan.
During the ’14th Five-Year Plan’ period, the machinery industry achieved considerable development under a complex and severe situation.
The scale of the industry has grown steadily. From the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period to the end of October 2025, the number of enterprises above designated size increased from 92,000 to 137,000, and assets increased from 26.5 trillion yuan to 41.7 trillion yuan.
In 2024, the operating income of enterprises above designated size exceeded the 30 trillion yuan mark for the first time, reaching 31.5 trillion yuan, accounting for 22.9% of the national industry, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period; from January to October 2025, the operating income of enterprises above designated size was 26.4 trillion yuan, accounting for 23.3% of the national industry.
During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the import and export volume exceeded one trillion U.S. dollars for five consecutive years, reaching 1.17 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, and reaching 1.03 trillion U.S. dollars from January to October 2025, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%. The import and export volume of machinery industry goods trade in 2025 is expected to reach a new high, becoming an important factor driving industry growth.
Innovation capabilities continue to improve. The research and experimental development (R&D) funding of the five national economic industry categories mainly involved in the machinery industry has shown a steady and rising trend since 2020.
The total investment in 2024 will be 763.56 billion yuan, with an investment intensity of 2.4%.
As of September 2025, there are 527 individual champion companies in the machinery industry, more than 5,000 “little giant” companies that specialize in new technologies, and more than 40,000 companies that specialize in new products, accounting for more than 30% of the national total.
The industrial foundation continues to be consolidated. Some core basic components have been independently controllable. The company has initially mastered the design and manufacturing technology of wind power speed-increasing boxes below 20MW. Key products such as high-performance fasteners for high-speed rail and nuclear power equipment have been successfully rolled off the production line and filled domestic gaps.
The ability to independently support key basic materials has been enhanced, and technological breakthroughs and large-scale applications have been achieved in areas such as high-end ultra-thin oriented silicon steel and large-tow carbon fiber.
The basic manufacturing process has been upgraded simultaneously, and technologies such as precision forming of ultra-large components and precision cold rolling of ultra-thin strips have been conquered, and the comprehensive improvement of independent manufacturing capabilities of high-end equipment has been promoted.
Industrial basic software and automatic control systems have also made significant progress.
The resilience of the industrial chain and supply chain continues to increase, and the supply capacity of major technical equipment has been significantly improved. It has developed internationally leading deep stress neutron detection equipment for materials, dual five-axis mirror milling machine tools, 300-megawatt F-class heavy-duty gas turbines and other “stuck neck” links to achieve technological breakthroughs.
The standards system has become more complete. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, 4,487 national standards and machinery industry standard plans were approved and released, and the international standard conversion rate reached more than 92%.
Quality brand building continues to advance, and the pass rate of national supervision and spot inspections of mechanical products has increased from 87.5% in 2021 to 92.1% in 2024.
The advantages of industrial clusters are becoming increasingly prominent. Among the 300 national-level small and medium-sized enterprise characteristic industrial clusters, enterprises in the machinery industry account for a quarter.
The pace of industrial upgrading is accelerating. As of 2024, the penetration rate of digital R&D and design tools in the machinery industry will exceed 90%, and more than 80 machinery companies have been selected as outstanding smart factories.
During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, 277 energy-saving technologies and 490 specifications and models of energy-saving equipment were selected into the national recommended catalog. The production and sales of new energy vehicles, electric engineering machinery, new energy agricultural machinery, etc. increased significantly.
The transformation of enterprises from single product manufacturing to “product + service” integrated solutions is accelerating, and models such as full life cycle management and system integration are widely used.
These achievements have been achieved thanks to the precise guidance of national strategies, the strong traction of ultra-large-scale markets, and the full play of the role of corporate innovation entities.
Strategic deployments such as the ‘Industrial Base Reengineering Project’ and ‘Major Technical Equipment Research Project’ have pointed out the right direction for corporate innovation. China’s huge equipment application market provides valuable scenarios for technological iterations, and the innovative vitality of the majority of enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, has been fully unleashed.
The ’15th Five-Year Plan’ period is a critical period for basically realizing socialist modernization, laying a solid foundation, and making full efforts.
The entire industry will adhere to the theme of promoting high-quality development, focus on improving the resilience and safety level of the industrial chain and supply chain, and accelerate the cultivation and development of new productive forces, and strive to achieve the following key tasks.
Strengthen innovation drive and build a solid foundation for development.
Give full play to the advantages of the new national system, concentrate on overcoming key core technologies and “stuck” links, break through and form a number of innovative and iconic major products, and ensure the integrity and security of the industrial system.
Strengthen the dominant position of enterprises in innovation, increase applied basic research, adhere to problem orientation and scenario traction, and promote the precise connection between scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation.
Accelerate structural adjustment and cultivate new productive forces.
Deepen the expansion of “artificial intelligence +”, promote the upgrading of new technology-enabled industries, and promote the accelerated transformation of industries into high-end, intelligent, green, and integrated industries.
Cultivate and expand strategic emerging industries such as new energy equipment and intelligent connected vehicles, and proactively deploy future industries such as embodied intelligence, hydrogen energy and energy storage.
Vigorously develop service-oriented manufacturing, focus on the deep integration of manufacturing and services, focus on promoting typical models such as shared manufacturing, personalized customization, full life cycle management, and general integrated general contracting, carry out common technology research and development such as demand sensing, integrated R&D and design, cultivate leading service-oriented manufacturing brands and innovative development highlands, and reshape the value chain with digital intelligence empowerment.
Optimize the layout of the industrial chain and enhance industrial competitiveness.
Cultivate high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises and characteristic industrial clusters, strengthen the construction of cluster innovation capabilities, and improve the collaborative supporting system of the industrial chain.
Create a number of internationally competitive advanced manufacturing clusters.
Promote the integrated development of large, medium and small enterprises and build an industrial chain ecosystem for collaborative innovation and achievement sharing.
Promote the collaborative “going out” of China’s equipment, technology, standards, and services to enhance the international operation capabilities of the machinery industry.
Create a good ecology and break the “involution” competition.
Give full play to the role of industry organizations, strengthen the construction of industry public service platforms, improve professional service capabilities from aspects such as technology, standards, quality, internationalization, talents, and law, and help enterprises develop high-quality development.
While actively promoting industry self-discipline, we will highlight the use of market-oriented thinking and legal concepts to strengthen industry governance and break the “involution” dilemma from multiple angles.
During the ’15th Five-Year Plan’ period, the machinery industry will thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, complete key tasks, build an independent, controllable, safe, reliable, and competitive industrial system, form a good pattern of upgrading traditional industries, leading emerging industries, and future industrial layout, play a more important supporting role in building a manufacturing power, realize new industrialization, and show greater achievements in the new journey of Chinese-style modernization.
